A/N: Thank you to everyone who read my
story, and especially those who sent me such awesome, supportive
reviews. This story had a mind of its own, ending up in entirely a
different place then I thought it would.

Chapter 10

"I
still say you could have let me pick my own workshops," Sara
repeated for the third time that day.

"I had to
let them know right away. You were in the garage, dismantling a car
looking for evidence. I didn't want to disturb you," Grissom
rationalized.

"Five
minutes, Griss. You could have interrupted me for five minutes."

"Sorry."

"You just
wanted the opportunity to sign me up for all the entomology classes."
Grissom gave her an innocent 'who me?' look. Sara didn't buy it.
"If I have to spend the whole time watching slides of blow flies
and carpet beetles feeding on dead bodies, there will be
retribution."

They were seated
side by side on a plane, headed east to Florida. There was a four
day forensic seminar, and Grissom had announced a week ago that the
two of them were going. When Sara had protested his high handed
approach, telling her instead of asking if she wanted to go, Grissom
had convinced her with the idea of walks on the beach and nights that
would be completely free. Just the two of them, no work, no cell
phones. She listened thoughtfully, but didn't accept his apology
until he shut the office door and pressed his lips against hers.

"Think of
it as a mini vacation. I want a little time with you, away from
here." She couldn't argue with that.

It had been four
weeks since their return from California, and life was slowly getting
back to normal. Or whatever normal could be considered for two
people who spent their nights with criminals and victims, and whose
conversations featured blood, bugs, and motive. She had told him,
during the long drive back to Vegas, all the details of her trip.
The quest for answers that had lead to her hasty departure, the
draining meeting with her mother, the cathartic feeling of finally
telling her father how she felt about him, the strange dream like
quality of returning to her old home and finding it changed. She
left out nothing, not even the intensity of her desire to hear his
voice that morning when she woke up. It wasn't a weakness to need
him, and she understood that now.

"I have a
confession to make." They had landed at the airport and claimed
the rental car that Grissom had reserved. Their drive down the
highway had been filled with observations about the scenery around
them, the warm weather, and the unusualness of being awake during the
early afternoon hours. During a lag in the conversation, Grissom
decided that it was now time to come clean.

"Please
tell me I was wrong about the entomology workshops, Griss. I was
really hoping at least to go to the one on blood splatter analysis."
She wasn't really worried. There was nothing in his voice or body
language that said his confession was too serious.

"About
that... I didn't sign us up for the seminar." He reached into
the seat behind him, pulling an envelope out of his briefcase and
handing it to her. Sara gave him a puzzled look, but accepted his
offering. Her curiosity only increased when she opened it up.

"Gil, these
are passes to Disney World."

"There are
tickets to Epcot in there too."

"What?
Why?"

"A couple
of months ago we were talking about a case, and you mentioned that
you had never gone to a theme park as a kid. I thought it was time
to remedy that fact, and what better place to go then the 'happiest
place on earth?'" He dared a quick glance in her direction, and
was alarmed to see tears forming in her eyes.

"We don't
have to go. I'm sure I can still get us into the forensic

seminar. I just
thought..." He stopped talking when he felt her lips brush

against his
cheek. She would have given him a more proper thank you, but

thought it would
be safer to wait until he wasn't driving.

"Sometimes,
Gil Grissom, you can be the sweetest man."

Sara was
unpacking her suitcase when there was a knock on the door. Grissom
had gone down the hallway to find the ice machine, and she assumed
that he had forgotten to take his keycard with him.

"Grissom,
you can be such a typical absentminded professor sometimes."
She muttered to herself. "I hope there wasn't a body in the ice
machine this time."

It wasn't
Grissom at the door, but an equally familiar face. A four foot tall
ball of energy that threw herself at Sara, hugging her waist.

"Maggie!
What are you doing here?"

"Me an' mom
are in that room, right there," she said, pointing to a door two
rooms away from the spot they stood in. "Mr. Grissom gived us
plane tickets, but he said it was a secret, and I couldn't tell you.
I did good, huh? Didn't tell you, not even when I really, really
wanted to."

"You did
very good, Maggie Mae. I didn't have a clue." She rubbed her
hand over her sternum, feeling the heart underneath speed up at the
though of Grissom making all these arrangements, for her.

"I told you
I could keep a secret, Mr. Grissom." Maggie turned to her side,
and Sara realized that Grissom was standing in the hallway, watching
her intently. He took a few steps towards her, and Sara met him
halfway. She reached behind him, clasping her hands around his neck
and covering his lips with her own. She kept it light, mindful of
Maggie's presence. Before the released him she tipped her head to
the side so that her mouth was inches from his ear.

"Remind me
to give you a proper thank you, when we don't have an audience."
Straightening up and turning away from him, she once again faced
Maggie. "What do you say we go find your mom, so we can go meet
Mickey Mouse?"

It took all of
Grissom's will power to shove Sara's promise in the back of his mind.
Gratitude was not what he had done any of this for, but he sure
wasn't going to turn it down.

"Did you
know that the sun heats the grease on the track of Thunder Mountain,
causing the roller coaster to actually go faster in the afternoon
then the morning?" he asked Sara as he hurried to catch up to
her.

"Why am I
not surprised that you know that?" Sara rolled her eyes, but
she also reached out and took Grissom's hand in her own.

"That was
awesome," Sara exclaimed. "We have to do that again."

They
had just exited the Indiana Jones ride, and Sara decided it was her
favorite so far. Favorite of the fast rides, at least. They had
gone on the Jungle Cruise right before this ride, and she had found
the experience. She couldn't decide what was funnier; the 'guides'
comical speeches, or Grissom's half-serious rebuttals about 'real
scientific facts.'
These species do not all cohabitant. There is no tribe native to the
African jungle that keeps their enemy's heads like that.

Grissom was
pleased that his surprise was going over so well. They had spent the
afternoon wandering the park with Maggie and Debra, until it was
decided that the little girl was in need of sleep. Despite her
protests, Maggie was taken back to the hotel, leaving Sara and
Grissom alone. They were walking past the Adventureland gift shop
when Sara suddenly

stopped, tugging
on Grissom's hand and pulling him into the store. He assumed that
she wanted a souvenir for herself or Maggie, or perhaps one of their
friends back in Vegas. Instead, she headed towards a display of
Indiana Jones style hats, sorting through them until she came across
one that apparently satisfied her. Without warning she placed it on
his head and nodded.

"Perfect."

Grissom looked
in the mirror, and couldn't help thinking that the broad brimmed
leather hat did suit him in some strange way.

"You look
like you could be Dr. Jones, if he studied weird insects instead of
obscure relics. You already have the whole 'fighting bad guys' part
taken care of." Sara joked.

Grissom laughed
and removed the hat. He was about to place it back on the pile with
the others when Sara took it from him and headed for the cash
register.

"I have
plans for this hat," she informed him. Sara refused the offer
of a bag for her purchase, placing the hat on her own head as they
walked out of the store.

Grissom smiled
at the picture she made, standing in the middle of a crowd, dressed
in shorts and a tank top. The hat was too big for her, and it almost
covered her eyes. Not enough that he couldn't see the twinkle there,
matching her grin. It was, he realized, the happiest and most
relaxed he had seen her since before the phone call from Maggie over
a month ago. Grissom grabbed her waist and pulled her to him. He
kissed her, not caring that they were in the middle of a walkway or
that there were hundreds of witnesses around. Grissom ran his tongue
along her lower lip to seek permission to deepen the kiss. Sara
granted his request, leaning into him

with abandonment.
When they finally separated, it was because of the banging noise
overhead. It seemed like a sign when they both raised their heads
and found the sky above them ablaze with a cacophony of fireworks.

The End

"He who
controls the past commands the future. He who commands the future
conquers the past." -George
Orwell

A/N 2: I know that the characters in
this story are fictional. In fact, they are fictional characters
taken from a tv show, which makes them even more removed from
reality. Still I feel this driving need to apologize to them for all
the torture I put them through. Thus, a trip to Disney World. In
LoA it was San Diego. Who knows where I'll send them next. (I
don't need therapy. Really.)

The author would like to thank you for your continued support. Your review has been posted.